Based on comments I have read on the forum, especially those from new members who are looking for a “good” NY style dough recipe, I have sensed that it might be useful to have a “roadmap” to help such persons zero in on a Lehmann recipe to try out.

As regular readers of the Lehmann thread know, I have made many versions and adaptations of the basic Lehmann NY style dough recipe to fit several possible applications in a home environment. The principal focus has been on the 16-inch size, which is very typical of the classic NY street pizza, but recipes are available for just about all common pizza sizes, from 9-inch all the way up to 18-inches. (There is even a formulation for a 30-inch size for those with the wherewithal to make that size.) The basic Lehmann dough recipe is a real workhorse, and can be adapted in many ways to use different flours (from all-purpose flour to high-gluten flour), different hydration percents (from 60-67 %, although I prefer 63%), and different machines to make the dough, including stand mixers, food processors and bread machines. Hand kneading is also an option for smaller size pizzas. The Lehmann recipe can even be modified, if one chooses, to make use of preferments (starters), autolyse (rest periods), and room temperature fermentation rather than cold fermentation (refrigeration) that is standard practice with the Lehmann dough recipes. I have even made "mini" pizzas (2 1/2 ") using the Lehmann dough.

In the roadmap below, I have used a chronological approach to listing the recipes that have been posted at the Lehmann thread, starting at page 1 at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.0.html. However, in order to make more effective use of the roadmap, in the summaries of the recipes I have presented I have highlighted the pizza sizes since it is usually pizza size that one selects before anything else. A point to keep in mind is that a recipe for a 16-inch pizza size can also generally be used to make two 12-inch pizzas of the same thickness as the 16-inch size (or the recipe can be cut in half to make a single 12-inch pizza). This makes the recipes for the 16-inch size especially versatile since it allows one to make a 16-inch pizza on a big stone, tiles or a 16-inch pizza screen, or 12-inch pizzas on a smaller stone or screen.

In the summaries, I have intentionally omitted references in most cases to the ingredients that are present in all the recipes, such as yeast (IDY) and oil. Also, unless otherwise indicated, the thickness factors for all the recipes are 0.10, which is typical of the standard NY style pizza (anything greater than 0.10 will produce a slightly thicker crust). All doughs made from the recipes are subjected to cold fermentation (refrigeration), unless otherwise indicated.

In order to reach a particular reply (post), all that is necessary is to click either on the Reply number or the link appended to the particular entry.

My intention is to keep the roadmap current as further adaptations of the Lehmann dough recipes evolve.

Pete-zza’s Lehmann Roadmap

First post, page 1 of the Lehmann thread: The basic Lehmann NY style dough recipe for 16-inch size, as adapted for home use from the commercial Lehmann NY style dough recipe: King Arthur Sir Lancelot high-gluten flour (KASL), 65% hydration, stand mixer. (Note that the basic recipe was subsequently changed to lower the amount of yeast used, even though the results using the higher amount of yeast were very good.) http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.0.html

If there was ever a pizza hall of fame, Pete-zza would have to be an inaugural member. The amount of work which went into creating all the variations of the Lehmann formula is enormous.

Pete-zza never ceases to amaze me with the generosity of his time and expertise. I am in awe of the magnitude of his consistent giving to this community. The roadmap post is the culmination of countless hours of responding and materially helping others.

Unfortunately, King Arthur has virtually no competition in the consumer space. All of the majors, like General Mills, Pillsbury and Bay State, have high-gluten flours in their product lineup but they come in very large bags (typically 25-50 lbs.) and are not sold at the retail level. If you are able to locate a foodservice distributor/wholesaler near you willing to sell on a cash and carry basis, as scott did recently with the KASL, that would be the best way to go. I don't know what the most common brand of high-gluten flour is among NY pizzerias, but if I had to guess I would say All Trumps, from General Mills. It's a good flour, although not quite as good as the KASL.

BTW, some members identified a company that sells the large bags of KASL to consumers. If you are interested, I'm sure I can come up with the name. I don't know how good they are, but it might be a good starting point to investigate further.

I went on the web page for KA and it looks like they have repackaged several of their flours in 3lb bags.

Peter,

That would be great if you could pass on the source to buy the KASL in a larger quantity when you have a chance. I don't mind buying a bigger bag, I can store it. I really like this flour - I was surprised out how much better it looked and felt than your average flour before even using it, plus it tastes and works the best. I guess plan B would be to talk to the local pizza place. I'm also trying to figure out how to get Grande cheese. I have been using the 6 in 1 tomatoes from Escalon and really like them.

The outfit whose name I was trying to think of is Dutch Valley Foods. You can read about them, as well as our members' experiences with that company, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1140.msg10114.html#msg10114. You should also take note of fellow member Wayno's recommendations, also at the linked thread, of finding a possible source of the KASL from an approved KA reseller/distributor. That avenue may or may not work out, but I definitely think it is worth a try.

Just a note to say that I modified the Lehmann Roadmap today to reference a new version of a Lehmann recipe (at Reply # 205 of the Lehmann thread) that uses all-purpose flour, vital wheat gluten, and dried dairy whey. It is the best all-purpose version of the Lehmann recipe I have made to date, after many unsuccessful attempts.

Today I updated the Lehmann Roadmap to reference my most recent Lehmann NY style pizza--an 18-inch pizza using the King Arthur Sir Lancelot (KASL) flour, 63% hydration, and use of a bread machine to knead the dough.

I updated the Lehmann Roadmap today to to refer to a recent experiment I conducted with the basic Lehmann dough recipe in which I lowered the amount of yeast (IDY) to 0.17% (by weight of flour), or about 1/5 teaspoon of IDY for a dough ball weighing a bit over 20 ounces. I also lowered the finished dough temperature to 75 degrees F, in an effort to slow down the degree and rate of fermentation so that the useful life of the dough can be extended beyond the typical 48-hour period yet be manageable.

See the photo below for an example of the finished product (a 16-inch vegetarian pizza with sauteed and fresh sliced mushrooms, green peppers, roasted red peppers, and caramelized onions). The results, described and shown more fully at Reply # 280, page 15, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.280.html, indicate that very good oven spring and an open and airy crust and crumb can be achieved in a cold fermented (refrigerated) dough using minuscule amounts of yeast.

The Lehmann Roadmap was updated today to refer to use of the basic Lehmann dough to make "mini" pizzas (2 1/2" across). The photo below is an example of what the mini pizzas look like. The process for making the mini pizzas is described at the Lehmann thread at Reply #290 and Reply #291, at page 15, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.280.html.

I updated the Lehmann Roadmap today to refer to a 9-inch Lehmann pizza that was baked on a bed of hot rocks. I am not sure whether the best description of the pizza is Lehmann Rocks !! or Lehmann on the Rocks, but the photo below shows the finished results. Further detail is provided at Reply # 297 and Reply # 298, at page 15, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,576.280.html.

Today, at the request of fellow member Buffalo, I posted a formulation for the Lehmann NY style dough for a 30-inch size, at Reply # 356, page 18, at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=576.new#new. Of course, this size cannot be baked in a normal home oven. A commercial oven would be required, and possibly a 30-inch pizza screen (or something else that would be equivalent to it) to be able to load the pizza into the oven. I believe the largest Lehmann pizza to date was around 19 inches. The largest I have made is 18 inches, the biggest size my oven can accommodate, and it was very impressive looking. I'd like Buffalo (or anyone else) to set a new record for the Lehmann dough .